| 1. |
Extension and Enhancement of Wage Subsidy Programme |
| |
| ● |
Currently, eligible employers are given monthly wage subsidiary ranging from RM600 to RM1,200 per employee for 3 months under the wage subsidy programme |
| ● |
It is proposed that the wage subsidy programme be extended for another 3 months with a fixed subsidy of RM600 per employee, up to a maximum of 200 employees per company |
| ● |
Besides, eligible employers are also allowed to:- |
| |
| ○ |
implement reduced work week (e.g. 4-day work week with a reduced pay of 20%); and |
| ○ |
receive wage subsidy for employees on unpaid leave, subject to employees receiving the subsidy directly [only applicable for tourism sector and businesses which are prohibited from operating during the Conditional Movement Control Order] |
|
| ● |
Applicable to the period from mid of June 2020 to end of September 2020 |
|
| 2. |
Incentives for Hiring of Youth and Unemployed |
| |
| ● |
Incentive of RM600 per month for up to 6 months be given to employers for hiring of youth (school leavers and graduates) for apprenticeships. |
| ● |
Incentive of RM800 per month for up to 6 months be given to employers for hiring of unemployed below age of 40 years old |
| ● |
Incentive of RM1,000 per month for up to 6 months be given to employers for hiring of unemployed aged 40 years old and above or persons with disability |
| ● |
The above will be opened for applications from mid of June 2020 until December 2020 |
|
| 3. |
Incentives for Flexible Work Arrangement |
| |
| ● |
To encourage work-from-home, further deduction be given to employers implementing Flexible Work Arrangements ["FWAs"] or undertaking enhancement of their existing FWAs (effective 1st July 2020) |
| ● |
Tax exemption of up to RM5,000 be given to employees who receive a handphone, notebook or tablet from their employers (effective 1st July 2020) |
| ● |
Special personal tax relief of up to RM2,500 be given for the purchase of handphone, notebook or tablet (effective 1st June 2020) |
|
| 4. |
Enhanced Tax Reliefs / Grant for Child Care Services |
| |
| ● |
Personal tax relief for parents on childcare services expenses be increased from RM2,000 to RM3,000 (applicable to year of assessment ["YA"] 2020 and YA 2021) |
| ● |
A one-off grant of up to RM5,000 be provided to childcare centre registered with the Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development (up to 31st December 2020) to comply with new healthcare standard operating procedures |
|
| 5. |
Tax Reliefs for COVID-19 Related Expenses |
| |
| ● |
Tax reliefs in the form of tax deduction or capital allowance on expenses incurred by businesses for COVID-19 testing, and purchase of personal protective equipment ["PPE"] and thermal scanner |
|
| 6. |
Extension of Special Deduction for Renovation and Refurbishment Costs |
| |
| ● |
Under the Economic Stimulus Package 2020 ["ESP"] announced earlier, special tax deduction of up to RM300,000 is given to businesses that incurred costs of renovation and refurbishment for business premises from 1st March 2020 to 31st December 2020 |
| ● |
It is proposed that the above deduction for renovation and refurbishment of business premises be extended for another year i.e. for expenditure incurred from 1st January 2021 until 31st December 2021 |
|
| 7. |
Extension of ACA on Machinery and Equipment, Including ICT Equipment |
| |
| ● |
Under the ESP announced earlier, accelerated capital allowance ["ACA"] (i.e. initial allowance of 20% and annual allowance of 40%) is given on qualifying expenditure incurred on machinery and equipment, including information and communication technology ["ICT"] equipment for expenditure incurred from 1st March 2020 to 31st December 2020 |
| ● |
It is proposed that the ACA on the above qualifying expenditure be extended for another year i.e. for expenditure incurred from 1st January 2021 until 31st December 2021 |
|
| 8. |
Extension of Special Deduction for Reduction of Rental |
| |
| ● |
Under the Prihatin Rakyat ESP announced earlier, a special deduction is granted to landlords offering rental reduction of business premises of at least 30% of the original monthly rental to small and medium enterprise ["SME"] tenants for the period from April 2020 to June 2020 |
| ● |
It is proposed that the above special deduction be extended for another 3 months i.e. from July 2020 until September 2020 |
|
| 9. |
Incentives for Establishing New Businesses |
| |
| ● |
Tax rebate of up to RM20,000 per year for first 3 years of assessment be given to SME established and commenced operations between 1st July 2020 to 31st December 2021 |
| ● |
Stamp duty exemption be granted to SME on any instruments executed for mergers and acquisitions during the period from 1st July 2020 to 30th June 2021 |
|
| 10. |
Incentives for Relocation of Manufacturing Activities to Malaysia |
| |
| ● |
To attract foreign companies to relocate their business to Malaysia by addressing the risk of re-shoring, the following incentives are proposed:- |
| |
| a. |
Tax rate at 0% for 10 years be applied to new investment by foreign companies in manufacturing sector with capital investment between RM300 million to RM500 million; |
| b. |
Tax rate at 0% for 15 years be applied to new investment by foreign companies in manufacturing sector with capital investment above RM500 million; |
| c. |
100% investment tax allowance for 3 years be given to existing companies in Malaysia relocating overseas facilities to Malaysia with capital investment above RM300 million; |
| d. |
Special reinvestment allowance be given for manufacturing and selected agriculture activities for YA 2020 and YA 2021 |
| e. |
Domestic Investment Strategic Fund be enhanced to assist companies in upgrading their technologies, and penetrating global market through outsourcing and increase of export value |
|
| ● |
To be eligible for the incentives in (a) and (b) above, companies must relocate and commence operations within a period of one year from the date of approval and the amount of investment involved must be made within a 3-year period |
| ● |
Applications for incentives in (a), (b) and (c) above must be made to the Malaysian Investment Development Authority ["MIDA"] from 1st July 2020 to 31st December 2020 |
|
| 11. |
Incentives/Support for Tourism Sector |
| |
| ● |
To support the tourism sector, the following are proposed:- |
| |
| ○ |
Tourism tax charged by operators of accommodation premises be exempted from 1st July 2020 to 30th June 2021 |
| ○ |
Extension of service tax exemption for hotel accommodation and other related services until 30th June 2021 |
| ○ |
Extension of personal tax relief of RM1,000 for domestic travelling expenses incurred until 31st December 2021 |
|
| ● |
Besides, extension of period for deferment of tax instalment payment for tourism industry for another 3 months, i.e. from October 2020 to December 2020 be granted |
|
| 12. |
Incentives for Property Sector |
| |
| ● |
Home Ownership Campaign be reintroduced where exemption from stamp duty on the instrument of transfer (limited to the first RM1 million of the home price) and loan agreement (100% exemption) for the purchase of residential homes priced between RM300,000 to RM2.5 million be given on the conditions that:- |
| |
| ○ |
at least 10% discount is provided by the developer; and |
| ○ |
the sale and purchase agreement must be signed between 1st June 2020 and 31st May 2021 |
|
| ● |
Real property gains tax exemption be granted to citizens of Malaysia for disposal of residential homes from 1st June 2020 to 31st December 2021, limited to the disposal of 3 units of residential homes per individual |
|
| 13. |
Sales Tax Exemption for Purchase of Passenger Cars |
| |
| ● |
Sales tax on locally assembled cars be fully exempted and 50% sales tax exemption be granted for imported cars |
| ● |
Effective 15th June 2020 until 31st December 2020 |
|
| 14. |
Remission of Penalty for Late Payment of Sales Tax and Service Tax |
| |
| ● |
A 50% remission be given on penalty for late payment of sales tax and service tax due and payable from 1st July 2020 to 30th September 2020 |
|
| 15. |
Export Duty Exemption for Commodities |
| |
| ● |
100% exemption of export duty be given on crude palm oil, crude palm kernel oil and refined bleached deodorised palm kernel oil |
| ● |
The exemption is given for the period from 1st July 2020 until 31st December 2020 |
|
| 16. |
Grant for Gig Economy Platforms |
| |
| ● |
A matching grant of up to RM50 million be provided for gig economy platforms who contribute for their gig workers towards PERKESO's employment injury scheme of up to RM162 and EPF's i-Saraan contribution of up to RM250 annually |
| ● |
Effective from beginning of August 2020 |
|
| 17. |
Grant for SME Digitalisation and Smart Automation |
| |
| ● |
To assist and incentivise SMEs and mid-tier companies ["MTCs"] to digitalise operations and trade channels |
| |
| ○ |
SME Digitalisation Matching Grant totalling RM100 million be provided to eligible enterprises |
| ○ |
Smart Automation Grant totalling RM100 million be provided to eligible enterprises, capped at up to RM1 million per company |
|
|
| 18. |
Grant for Social Enterprises |
| |
| ● |
A matching grant totalling RM10 million be given through Malaysian Global Innovation & Creativity Centre ["MaGIC"] to social enterprises who are able to crowdsource contributions and donations to undertake social projects that will address the challenges faced by targeted communities through innovative ways beginning from August 2020 |
|
| 19. |
Digitalisation of Stamp Duty Services |
| |
| ● |
In light of the new social distancing norms, government services delivery such as stamp assessment and stamping will be carried out via digital platforms beginning from June 2020 |
|
| 20. |
Introduction of COVID-19 Temporary Measures Act |
| |
| ● |
COVID-19 Temporary Measures Act be introduced to provide:- |
| |
| ○ |
temporary legislative measure to minimise the impact of the pandemic |
| ○ |
sufficient runway for businesses to recover their operations |
| ○ |
relief from certain contractual obligations and financial distress for the revival of the economy |
|
|